“Charles!”
“I come bearing gifts,” I say as I hand her the coffee. “River sent it with me.”
Marcia smiles and takes a careful sip. “Ah. Mocha. That boy is too good for me. What’s got you visiting me before our knitting meetup?”
“I was wondering if you needed volunteers for the lantern festival? Or any other festival.”
“I do! Actually…” Marcia pauses with a small worried smile. “How would you feel about being on the marketing materials as a guest?”
I barely hold back my wince. “I don’t know about that. I’d rather be behind the scenes.”
Marcia nods. “Understood. Well, I can put you to work unpacking all the lanterns when they arrive. And the day of the event there will be lots to do. Would you mind sharing about it on social media, maybe? I am not so good at that. One of my grandkids tends to help with the festival’s social media page.”
“That I can absolutely do.” I pull out my phone and navigate to social media, easily locating the lantern festival’s very sparse page. “How about this post?” I hold out my phone to show the most recent post showcasing a very pretty banner that contains all the dates and times and admission fees. “I canshare this one a few times over the next few months, if you’d like?”
“You’re such a sweetheart, bless you.”
I am not a sweetheart, but it’s nice that she thinks so. We spend a few more minutes talking about the lantern festival and all that Marcia could use me for, before I get ready to leave. I’m halfway to the door when it opens to reveal a very grumpy-looking Tucker. He wipes his feet on the mat and starts talking without noticing me.
“Ms. Marcia, there’s literally no one in town who wants to give their kids guitar lessons? There’s no gig work for me here. No bartending. I need something to do or I’m going to go fucking crazy.” He looks up just as he says, “Sorry for swearing, Ms. Marcia.”
Our gazes lock and Tucker’s cheeks turn a deep, ruddy burgundy that is so much more endearing than it should be. He lets out a very loud huff of breath through his nose before squaring his shoulders and marching toward Marcia. He pauses at the sight of Cupcake and looks slightly afraid, which I understand because she’s much larger than most dogs.
“She won’t bite,” I whisper for only him to hear.
“I’m sure,” Tucker replies just as quietly. “She’s very large though.”
“And she’s the sweetest dog on the planet.”
Tucker looks wary but holds out his hand for Cupcake to sniff anyway. Cupcake nuzzles it gently, earning herself a small quirk of Tucker’s lips.
“Why wasn’t she with you on the beach the other day?”
“Ah.” I rest my hand on Cupcake’s head and give her a little scratch. “She’s too old for sunrise runs now. Her hips aren’t so good anymore, and I like to go for long runs.”
“Oh. That makes sense. How old is she?”
“Twelve.”
“Aw.” Tucker gives Cupcake one more longing look before seemingly remembering he wants to act shy around me. He clears his throat and searches out Marcia, who has suddenly disappeared. Tucker’s eyebrows furrow adorably as he looks around for her. “Where’d she go?”
“In the back! Just a few moments!” Marcia calls out.
Tucker’s shoulders slump. “Great.”
I use the brief time to catalog his outfit for the day. It’s a black band T-shirt for an artist I don’t know, loose blue jeans, and he’s wearing adorable lime-green Chuck Taylors that might look obnoxious on someone else but just lookrighton him.
“You’re giving guitar lessons?”
Tucker attempts a brave smile. “Yes. Do you know anyone who wants some?”
I scratch the top of Cupcake’s head and smile back. “I’d love guitar lessons.”
Tucker makes a face. “Funny, haha. All right, well. Thank you.” He starts to walk away, pauses, then turns back to me. “Don’t forget to make your wish on the next sunrise run. It’s very serious, you know. It’s real.”
“I believe you.”
Tucker narrows his eyes. “Really?”
